As my Life turns Upside Down
by GreaserFreak13
Summary: The Cutis brothers discover a shocking secet about their parents past that they may not be able to handle. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**- The only person I own in this fanfic is Larkin David Cutis. I own none of the other characters. S.E. Hinton does.

**Authors Notes**- Sorry, Pony, Darry and Soda won't be showing up for a few chapters. Probably around Chapter Four they'll show up.

**Chapter One**

**Larkin POV**

"James...we need to sit down and talk." Mom said, motioning for me to sit down on the couch beside her. "James...well, we'll have to stop calling you James, but...um...hmm..." Dad began. By now I was wondering why they had to stop calling me James and what exactly was going on.

After a few minutes, Dad's unsure voice shattered the uneasy silence that had descended upon us over the last few minutes. "James...I don't know how I can tell you this...the truth is, well..." Dad tried unsuccessfully at beginning again. Before he stated to stammer again, I cut in. "Dad," I said, and mom and dad looked guilty and apprehensive. "What is going on? What do you have to tell me?" I asked.

Dad sighed, and began to talk again. "James, this isn't easy for us to tell you and it probably won't be easy for you to hear since you're almost 17, but...James, the truth is, you have a twin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You, but not the twin, were put up for adoption. So you and your twin were literally separated at birth." Dad said, in a hurry.

"This is a joke right? You're kidding me, is that it? This whole adoption thing and me having a twin but we were separated at birth...it's a joke, right?" I said, willing it to be true. Mom and dad were my mom and dad, not some other people I didn't even know. Both mom and dad shook their heads. Why had my mom not cared enough to keep me? Why did she keep the other twin if she couldn't keep me?

"You are a member of the Curtis family of 819 Kilgore Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma. You have three brothers. Darryl Shayne is, I believe, 20, Ponyboy Michael is 14, almost 15 and Sodapop Patrick is...you're twin, younger then you by 5 minutes, about." Mom, who hadn't said a word since this conversation, said in one breath. It was almost to fast for me to catch.

Then something occurred to me. James Phillip Anders must not be my real name. It must have been a name given to me by my adoptive mom and dad, Phil and Kelly, who I had called mom and dad up until today. "What's my real name?" I asked, icily. Probably something I hate, I thought bitterly. "It's Larkin David Curtis. We just called you Lark up until we decided to change your name." Kelly answered. "When was that?" I asked, stonily. "It was about two weeks after you came to us. You were three days old when you came to us." Phil answered.

"Can I ask you why you waited until I was almost 17 to tell me all of this and why not when I was seven or eight?" I asked. I was sure they didn't have an answer. "Well, seven or eight would be a sensible age to tell you all of this, but we didn't want you being known as the 'adopted kid' in you classes. We wanted you to have a normal childhood, or at least as normal as it could be, and that was for nor to tell you. We only told you now because we felt you had a right to know." Phil said, reasonably.

"What about my biological parents?" I asked. Phil and Kelly looked at me. "We haven't heard from them in years...but...I'm sorry...We saw their obituaries in the paper a year or two ago." Phil said. "Then why didn't you tell me about all of this a year or two ago? 14 is better then 16 to learn about all of this, you know.' I said. This was great. All in one day I fund out I have three brothers, I'm adopted, and my parents are dead. Neither Phil nor Kelly answered the question.

"James..." Kelly began. "It's Larkin!" I spat, and both Kelly and Phil looked taken aback. "Okay, Larkin...please don't get mad at us! We had only good intentions and we meant the best for you." Kelly pleaded with me. Suddenly I was filled with raging anger, mad at Kelly and Phil for not telling me until today, only three months before my birthday, October 8th, when I would turn 17.

"Not get mad? How can I not get mad/" I exploded suddenly. "I'm almost 17 years old and you finally tell me that I'm adopted and my three brothers are living on their own because my parents are dead? How can you expect me not to get mad? What the hell is wrong with you?" I yelled. "James..." Phil began. "LARKIN!" I yelled madder then ever. "Larkin...please! There is no need for cursing! Please calm down!" Phil tried to take control of the situation.

I ran upstairs to fill my backpack with about four pairs of jeans, a pair of drawstring sweatpants, about five tee-shirts, a sweatshirt and nearly five hundred dollars I had been saving up since I was twelve. Kelly and Phil pleaded with me not to go, but I wrenched out of their grasped and headed for the front door. There was a train to Tulsa leaving in about an hour with my name on it.

**Authors Notes**- Well! I hope you liked it! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**- I don't think I own The Outsiders characters, but I can go check again, even though I'm prtty sure I don't own them...

**Authors Notes**- Thanks to those who reviewed, I'll get your names up in the next chapter! I might update again today if I have time. Please forgive me if I don't, I'm going to the pool. And I know it's short, I'm sorry!

**Chapter Two**

**Larkin POV**

"James...Larkin," Phil corrected himself, saving himself- from being yelled at by me again. I didn't feel like yelling anymore, anyway. He grabbed my shoulder to keep me from leaving. If he and Kelly knew me as well as I thought they knew me, they would know I would find a way out, even if they locked me in my bedroom on the second floor. I would climb down the drainpipe or make a rope out of the sheets and blankets on my bed, even if I was getting too old to do those things anymore. I'm sure the drainpipe would hold up if I climbed down it one more time. It would be my last time, after all.

Plans ran through my head as I vaguely heard Phil and Kelly trying to get me to sit down so we could talk about this as a family. "James, are you even listening to me?" Kelly asked. I knew she called me James but I chose to ignore it. "Yeah, I am, and we are not a family! Remember the last time we sat down and talked 'as a family'? Yeah, I found out I was adopted and that my real parents are dead! You didn't even tell me then!" I yelled. Phil and Kelly looked hurt, but I didn't care. It actually felt good.

I opened the door and stated to leave. Phil made no move to stop me, but he and Kelly looked crushed. I could tell they didn't expect me to react this way, but how could they think I'd just sit there and take it while they told me I was adopted and my parents are dead? How did they expect me to react? I was starting to think they didn't know me as well as I thought they did because if they did they would know I would go find my brothers, and I even knew the address.

"Larkin...no, James. I don't care what you want us to call you; you'll always be James to me. You'll always be my son, even if you don't consider me your mother. I can't keep you from leaving, but I can keep you from leaving without the knowledge that you are my son, no matter what some paper says." Kelly says. I just left when she finished, without looking back. I needed to catch that train.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**- Once again, The Outsiders characters and trademarks are not owned by me but by the brilliant S.E. Hinton.

**Chapter Three **

**Larkin POV **

I could not believe I had actually gotten away from Phil and Kelly. Maybe they knew me better then I thought if they knew enough to figure out I would find a way to leave somehow. Then another though popped into my mind as I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight. Wouldn't Phil and Kelly come and try to get me back? I mean, they knew exactly where I was going. Maybe they realized I needed to go and find my brothers. As far as I knew, none of them knew about their adopted brother.

Sodapop didn't even know he had a twin. _This is gonna be hard to explain_, _I thought. What if they didn't believe me? Where would I go? I couldn't just go back to my old house. What would Phil and Kelly think about me if I did?_ Then, as if a light bulb suddenly turned on above my head, like in the cartoons, I remembered something. _What about that hippie house, as Mark called it? The house where his friend M&M, was it, was staying a while back. I could stay there, if they didn't me. _

Suddenly I found myself at the train station. It must be closer to my old house then I thought. "The train to Tulsa, Okalahoma from Okalahoma City is leaving in 5 minutes. Please board the train now. I repeat, please board the train to Tulsa, Okalahoma now." As the announcement was made, I realized I had made it to the train station just in time. I made a conscious decision to just sneak on and save my money, even though I had more then enough for a ticket, especially one to just Tulsa. The ride would take an hour or two, at the most.

"All Aboard!" The conductor screamed. The train was leaving. The conductor boarded the train, and I ran to hop on. I made it into one of the storage compartments just in time, right before the train started up and I left Okalahoma City, away from Phil and Kelly, my friends, my school... was this really the right decision? _Yes_, I thought. I needed to find my brothers. I hadn't even known I had brothers until about an hour and a half ago.

_What about Phil and Kelly? How do they feel? Their only child, if not their biological child, just walked out on them. _I though. No. _I can't feel sympathy for Phil and Kelly. It's their fault. They waited until today to tell me that I was adopted. They could've told me sooner. They shouldn't have waited until today to tell me. I'm almost 17, for Christ sake! They probably didn't think their only child would leave home at 16, did they? _

The next thing I knew the train was in Tulsa. _It's now or never. I can get off now, or I can go back home like a little baby,_ I thought. I took a deep breath, and jumped off the train, making it look like I wasn't a stowaway. I mixed in with the other passengers and beat it out of the train station as fast I could. Consciously, I remembered the address, thinking it over and over, like a chant, only I didn't say it._ 819 Kilgore, 819 Kilgore, 819 Kilgore_. Over and over I thought it until; finally it was etched in my brain permanently and I was standing right outside the very house of my twin brother.

I took a deep breath and walked up the steps. I could make out the noise of the TV, the radio, people wrestling and people screaming. _Do I really only have three brothers? How can they make this much noise?_ I thought, sounding a lot like Kelly when she got mad at me and Phil for making too much noise. I took another deep breath and carefully knocked the door.

**Authors Notes**- Well, what do you know? Pony, Darry and Soda are showing up in Chapter Four! I'll try as hard as I can to get chapter four up tonight, after I get back from the pool. Thanks for reading! Please R&R.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**- However much I wish they did, The Outsiders trademarks and characters do not belong to me.

**Chapter Four **

**Ponyboy POV **

I barely heard the knock on the door over the TV and the radio. Steve and Soda's wrestling didn't help matters much. I got up from my seat on the couch and made my way over to the door. "You hear the door, Pony?" Soda asked. "Yeah." I answered. "Wonder who it could be. Hope it's not some old guy from the state." Soda said, voicing my thoughts. I nodded and opened the door.

On the porch stood a carbon copy of Soda, right down to the freckle on his nose and the color of his eyes. I looked quizzically at the person. "Could you wait just a sec.?" I asked the Soda duplicate to make sure Soda was inside and not playing a joke on me. Wasn't I talking to Soda just seconds earlier? Sure enough, there he was, back to wrestling Steve on the floor.

"Soda? There's a person who looks exactly like you at the door." I said. Soda grinned. "Is their really?" He asked. He jumped up and looked out the window at the person. "Would you look at that?" He said in awe. "Darry!" Soda yelled. "Yeah, Little Buddy?" I heard him yell from his room. "There's a guy who looks exactly like me at the door!" Soda yelled.

Ten seconds later Darry had torn through the hallway and into the living room and now was peering through the window at the Soda look-a-like. Darry opened the door. "Hi." The Soda copy said. "Hi. I'm Darry Curtis. Won't you come in?" Darry said, professionally. "Darry," Soda hissed. "You said never to let strangers in the house!" Soda said. Two-Bit and Steve laughed. They stopped when the Soda duplicate stepped inside.

Nobody said anything, just grinned weirdly. I bet they all thought Soda was playing a practical joke or something. I wouldn't put Soda past this... Soda always said he wanted a twin...But when I looked over at Soda he was just as stupefied as the rest of us. We were all thinking the same thing: _Who is this guy and why does he look exactly like Soda? _

Soda's "twin" looked embarrassed. He seemed to forget his manners as he shifted from foot and kept his eyes glued to the ground, sort of like I do when I'm embarrassed. Steve and Two-Bit watched his feet and seemed to think the same thing. Almost as though we were sending Darry and Soda telepathic messages, a look of realization spread across their faces. But what did this mean?

Darry cleared his throat. "Um...What can I help you with?" He said, breaking the eerie, uneasy silence. The Soda 

Look-a-like looked up even more embarrassed, and his ears reddened. Another look of realization spread across, I think, everyone's faces.

"Oh...sorry. This must be strange to you. Let me explain." The Soda copy said. Darry nodded and we all waited for him to go on, egging him to begin again and tell us what this was all about with nods. "Um...well, my name is Larkin Cutis. I'm Soda's twin."

The uneasy silence spread across the room. This time Steve broke the silence. "You're kidding, right?" The Soda copy- Larkin- shook his head. "I just found out about it all today." Larkin said. Darry snapped out of his shocked daze and went off in search of something. Soda went to help, both of them whispering quietly to each other, almost under their breaths. I couldn't make out a word.

The uneasy silence descended, and this time wasn't broken until Darry and Soda returned. "It's true. I found his birth certificate."

**Authors Notes**- So, you like? Does it make you want to review?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**- As you all know, I do not own The Outsiders. It would be a waste of time saying I did because that would be a lie. I don't.

**Chapter Five**

**Darry POV**

"Darry?" Ponyboy asked uneasily. "How'd you know to look for his birth certificate?" He said, breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen upon us yet again. I looked at Pony, and then to Larkin. Larkin was still staring down at the floor, but he seemed to want to know my answer.

"I just thought if he was really Soda's twin Mom and Dad would have his birth certificate, since he was their son and all." I answered, truthfully. "But why would Mom and Dad give him away?" Pony asked. "I don't know." I answered. Mom and Dad didn't seem like the people who would do that, unless they had a good reason.

Steve looked at the clock, which read 4:48. "I gotta be leaving for work. Shop closes at 9:30 tonight." He said and left. "And I have to go see if I have a twin that I didn't know about." Two-Bit said and left after we had finished laughing, which didn't take long.

"Um...Larkin? Could you tell us what you know about everything?" I asked. I wondered if there was some clue in what he had found out. "My adoptive parents, Phil and Kelly told me I was adopted, I had three brothers named Soda, Pony and Darry, and they told me your address and that my real parents were...dead. And then I left." He said. "And that's about it. They didn't tell me why my real parents had given me up for adoption." He continued.

I then realized that Larkin had nowhere else to go. "Well, you can stay here if you like, if you don't want to go back to your adoptive parents." I said. I don't know why I was saying this. I hardly knew the kid, but he couldn't possibly be lying. I had found his birth certificate, and he even knew our address.

"Um...I don't know, if it's not too much trouble for you..." He said, unsure. This time Soda answered. "No, no trouble at all. You can stay on the couch if you like, but if you plan on staying longer, we could rearrange our parent's room for you..." He said. Pony looked hurt at that suggestion. None of us had even been in our parent's room since the accident, but I knew he understood. Larkin couldn't sleep on the couch until he found some place else to live, if he even wanted to...

"Well, okay, I guess." He said. "I'll help out a lot around here; I hope this isn't too much trouble..." He said. "Oh, it's no problem." I said, and went to start dinner. Boy, was this going to be a long night...


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- **If you think I own The Outsiders you need mental help.

**A/N**- Hello? Anybody reading? R&R, Please! Sorry...in kind of a crabby mood. For no reason. That always makes me extra crabby.

**Chapter Six**

**Ponyboy POV**

_How could Larkin be Soda's twin? And why did Soda just leave for work when he just found out he had a twin? And why didn't Darry stop him? Did Darry believe Larkin? How could he not? I mean, he did find his birth certificate...And why did Mom and Dad give him up? Why didn't they tell us? What was going on?_

The questions shot through my mind as I tried to answer them. But, the truth was, I didn't have answers. I mean, I didn't think we were that bad off that they couldn't have another kid, or else why would they have had me? I still couldn't figure out why mom and dad would give him up.

"Darry..." I asked when Larkin had gone to the bathroom.

"Yeah, Pony?"

"What is going on? Why did Mom and Dad give him away?"

"I don't know."

"Is he really our brother?"

"There's no denying it. He looks exactly like Soda and acts exactly like you."

"But why would he act like me if he was Soda's twin?"

"That happens sometimes."

"Yeah...I guess, But it's really I act like him, since he's older."

"If you want to get technical."

"Glory, I ain't ever acted like nobody before, but here I been doing it all my life."

"You're crazy, Pone."

"Where's he gonna sleep."

"In mom and dads room."

"But we ain't been in it since mom and dad died, Darry!"

"Do you want to sleep there? There is no other place!"

"But..." I was cut short when Larkin stepped out of the bathroom. He seemed to know we were talking about him, because his ears reddened when he realized it. Darry was right. There was no denying he was our brother. But he didn't really act like or look like Darry at all, as far as we knew.

"Hey, Darry? Can I go to the lot?" I asked. I wanted an excuse to get out of the house to gather my thoughts and try to figure out what was going on. Glory, yesterday Soda didn't have a twin and today he does. And yesterday Larkin had no brothers, but today he has three. "Yeah, okay. Be back by 9." Darry said, and I hurried out the door.

**Darry POV**

I watched as Pony hurried out the door, headed toward the lot. I wish I could go with him, but I couldn't exactly leave Larkin here all alone. We just found out he existed about half an hour ago. I don't think I should have let Soda go to work, but he couldn't call out sick when he had to be in work in ten minutes.

But I could leave him to go make dinner or clean the bathroom or some other household chore... Man, this was not me. "Um...I gotta go cook dinner now." I said to Larkin, anyway, and he nodded. "Do you need help?" He asked, like Pony normally would. "No, that's alright. You can watch TV or something, I think Gunsmoke or MASH might be on." I said. I needed some to think, also. I'm sure that's why Pony left.

_Soda has a twin, and I have another brother, who, for some reason, Mom and Dad gave up for adoption even before we knew about him. But why would Mom and Dad keep Soda and not him? What if Soda was put up for adoption? Would things have been different? What is going on? Why didn't Mom and Dad at least tell me? What would Pony and Soda think if they had, and Larkin, too, if I didn't tell them what I knew until today? What was going on? _I though. Soon, the things I was thinking became repetitive. So I listened to the TV instead.

Larkin was sitting, cross-legged, on the floor, like both Soda and Pony liked to do and was watching a re-run of MASH that had just come on. He would laugh every once and a while when one of the character s made a joke. His laugh was a lot like Soda's. He acted like he was watching the show, but I knew he wasn't actually. He was thinking about the whole thing, like he knew I was.

_Was he thinking the same things I was? What was Pony thinking? What was Soda thinking? Where had Steve and Two-Bit gone? They must've left with Pony, and I didn't notice. What did they think of the whole thing? What was going on?_ I thought. What was the use of thinking about the questions with no answers, unless you were pretty sure you knew the answer? What was going on?

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a scream. I'm sure Larkin heard it., too, because he perks up and looked around, trying to figure out where the scream had come from and who it was screaming. Then it hit me as the person screamed again. It was Ponyboy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer- **Don't own The Outsiders. Only own Larkin, blah, blah, blah.

**Authors Note- **Sorry for the almost entirely Larkin-free chapter. I just wanted to fit in Pony getting hurt. Ha, I am so evil.

**Chapter Seven **

**Ponyboy's POV **

I let the door slam behind me and headed toward the lot, which wasn't that far away. The night I ran away after Darry hit me I'd made it there in about a minute, but I'd been running. It only took a little more time, maybe a minute or so, to get there walking. Why I was thinking about how long it took to get to the lot from our house I couldn't tell you. I just did that sometimes.

The climbing tree in the lot was empty, and so was the lot, which was weird for a Saturday, Usually there's a kid or two hanging from its branches on the weekends. It was a pretty good climbing tree, and the only other good climbing tree in the neighborhood was about five blocks away, near Buck's house and the Dingo, and most kids preferred this one over that one, anyway.

So, of course, I decided to climb it. I hoisted myself up onto the lowest branches instead of using the low part of the trunk like most of the kids do. Most of the kids weren't as tall as me, and they didn't weigh as much...Now I wasn't so sure this was a good idea. But I was skinny and a bit short for my age, so I kept climbing. I was on the third branch...fourth... fifth...at the seventh I stopped. I was up high enough, and almost to the top. You could see our house from where I was.

I grinned and looked around. It was sure pretty up here. Imagine how a sunset would look up here...and it was almost time for the sun to set...I climbed up another branch to get an even better view. I looked at my watch without taking my hand off the branch it was on, so I wouldn't lose balance. It was Almost 8:30, the sun should be setting any minute now. I shifted in the tree, trying to get more comfortable. Big mistake. I felt my hands beginning to slip...and one hand fell off... and the other.

I fell. It seemed to take forever, like I was much higher then maybe twenty or thirty feet off the ground. I wasn't much higher then that was I? I was never good at measuring distances without a ruler or tape measurer, I coulda been fifty feet up for all I knew.

I screamed as I fell toward the ground, and landed, hard. I screamed again as a sharp pain shot through my arm.

It was broken, I was pretty sure of it.

**Darry's POV **

Pony's screams sent me running to the lot, and to my surprise Larkin followed. As I neared the lot, I could se Pony. He was kneeling on the ground, cradling his arm and his face screwed up in pain. Please tell me he didn't break his arm...again...

_"Hey Darry! Look at me! I'm Superman!" Pony yelled, standing on the edge of the couth with a red blanket tied around his neck. "Pony, you better not..." I said, but before I could finish my sentence he jumped and hit his arm on the coffee table. Pony started crying, and mom and dad came running at his screams. Mom and Dad took him to the hospital and when he came home he was stuck in a cast for 6 weeks. He'd left the Superman name to me after that. _

"Pony, what happened?" I asked once I had reached him. "I fell from the tree...I think I broke my arm." He said, with difficulty because of the pain. It was a wonder he wasn't crying. "We gotta get him to the hospital. I'm pretty sure he broke his arm." I said to Larkin, who hadn't spoken since he arrived after I check his arm and he almost screamed.

"What were you doing, climbing that tree?" I asked him. Sometimes he just didn't use his head and it annoyed the hell out of me, you can be sure. "I don't know, just climbing, I guess." He said. I rolled my eyes and helped him into truck, as we had arrived at home. "You best stay here, it might be a while. I'm sorry..." I said to Larkin. "It's alright, don't worry about it." He assured me. I grinned and got into the car, and we left for the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Darry POV**

"Pony? What happened?" Soda said, jumping up from his seat on the couch with Larkin. Apparently Larkin hadn't told him, or he was about to but Soda had just sat down when we came in. He had only got done work 10 minutes ago. "He fell out of the tree by the lot." I answered, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. Pony headed to his room, followed by Soda.

I went into the kitchen to start dinner, which Soda hadn't had time to do and I wasn't expecting Larkin to. I head Soda and Pony talking in the back room and the TV on in the living room. Had Larkin gone out at all? I'd have to ask him. Right now he looked half asleep on the couch. That's where he would probably end up sleeping tonight, since I hadn't had time to get mom and dads room ready.

"Dinners ready!" I yelled about twenty minutes later. Larkin walked in, and Soda and Pony came running. Pony and Soda automatically went to set the table, and Larkin help, getting the silverware out and putting them beside the plates. I'm _gonna like having this kid here if he always helps out like _this, I thought.

We ate in silence. I was beginning to hate the quiet, and I think Larkin was, too. He'd heard the state the house is usually in when he'd first come here. I'm glad Soda and Pony had accepted Larkin like he'd been here all our lives. I'd been hard to do, but I'd been trying. But Larkin hadn't been here all along, and that was the problem. I could never consider Larkin my real brother, because he had not grown up with us. He didn't know anything about us. And we didn't know anything about him. So I guess we'll just have to figure it out.

**A/N**- I know. Sorry this chapter is so short. I'll get more done after the weekend.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**- Umm...Thursday isn't too bad, is it? Sorry it took me so long. I defiantly won' be updating tomorrow, we have a party to go to. I tried to make this chapter long, I really did.

**Disclaimer**- Don't make me say it again.

**Chapter Nine**

**Ponyboy POV**

Dinner was quiet, with so many things left unsaid. What was going on? I mean, yesterday Soda didn't have a twin, but today he does. I didn't know how me and Soda were able to act like he'd been here all along, he sure hadn't. And he'd run away from his adoptive parents house, wasn't Darry gonna do anything about that? And did Larkin drop out of school like Soda did? Is Darry gonna make him go if he did? Is this guy lying? Is he really Soda's twin? There really is no denying it, he looks like Soda and acts like me. What was going on?

I ate my dinner slowly, like all the others, partly because of my cast. I guess we would talk after dinner if the guys didn't show. I was pretty sure they wouldn't, Steve was working until about 10 and Two-Bit usually got drunk on Friday nights. Or any night, really. That's part of the reason he's still a junior at 18. So I guess talking after dinner would be good.

"Darry! Come here!" Soda yelled from my parent's room. I hadn't realized he left. Darry left the table and went to go find out what Soda was hollering about.

**Darry POV**

"Darry! Come here!" Soda yelled again. I sighed and went to go find out what he was hollering about. It turned out he was in my parent's room. "What? I said when I reached the doorway. What could he be hollering about? He handed out a piece of old yellowing paper. I recognized my mom's handwriting immediately. I took the paper and started to read.

Dear Larkin and Soda,

This will not be easy for you or your brothers to hear and it is hard for me to write. But in case something may happen before I can tell you I am writing this letter in high hopes you will find it before it is too late. By the time you find this I hope Larkin is with you.

The thing is, Larkin and Soda, you two were adopted, but by different families. Soda was adopted by us and Larkin was adopted by Phil and Kelly Silverman, when you were both only two weeks old. Please don't be angry, Larkin. We would have loved to adopt both of you but we didn't have enough money, not in the least.

You are the children of Sara and Robert Welder. They put you up for adoption because Sara was only 16 when you ere born.

Soda, we didn't tell you because we wanted your brothers to accept you like you were really their brother. Darry doesn't even know, and he or Ponyboy won't until I tell you or you find this letter.

Please, please forgive us. We only meant the best for you. I hope you understand. We love you all.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Could this be true or was it just a sick joke that "Larkin" was playing? But how could he forge my mom's handwriting? "We have to go tell Pony and Larkin." Was all I said and Soda nodded. Our lives had just become way more confusing, and all because of a letter.


End file.
